Backstory: My father passed away 6 years ago. Before he passed he flew to the NE united states and drove the car back to Cleveland Oklahoma. He drove it around for a few months and decided to start the build. I was away finishing up college when he undertook this project. Before he passed he began tearing into the car and ordered some suspension parts, he put a 383 stroker motor that we build together before college in it. He gutted the interior and cut into the body to install a roll bar. Ultimately he wanted to build the car and run it at the Hallet Motor Racing Circuit in Hallet Oklahoma with the local corvette club. 2 years ago my mother called me and told me to come and pick the car up. She was giving it to me with the expectation that I would build it the right way, and take it to the road course at least once.

The Car: This car is a 1975 corvette coupe. The original color is yellow and has been repainted at least once (still yellow) Currently it has a 383 stroker motor, with a muncie 4-speed. The interior is ratted out the body needs work, it was repainted with a laquer so you can't just sand it down, and the frame is roached. (Honestly if it wasn't my dads car it would be cheaper to part it out and start with a better base.

End Goal:

Suspension:

New Frame
Custom Built 4 point roll bar
Vansteel offset trailing arms
QA1 coilovers on front and rear
Vansteel tubular front lower control arms
POL tubular front upper control arms
Complete new brake lines, calipers, booster, and master cylinder

Body:

Repaired cracks and body panels
Matte black finish with gloss yello accents
4.5" us body source hood
L88 wide body fender flares

Drivetrain:

Balanced 383 stroker (4 bolt main block 1 piece rear main)
MSD Atomic EFI
MSD digital retard system
MSD 6AL
100hp sniper nitrous system
Full roller valvetrain
Comp Cams high lift roller cam
Side Pipe exhaust system
Muncie 4 speed transmission
Rear end (still researching)
Tires and Wheels (still researching)

I will follow this post with updates and categories including pictures of projects, problems, new parts, and questions.

 

Seem to be a awesom project you'r doing to honor your Dad, AND Mom as well,,, Are you going to do the work, or have it done by others?,,,,

Welcome!,,,,,,,,,,,, , teddy,,,,,,,

 

the one thing i fear is this isn't what you had planned for your spare time for the forseeable future. do what you can. spend what you can justify. don't pull the body off the frame too soon. 3 bays of parts. body over here. frame over there. 3rd bay full of all the stuff got taken off... be sure you are up for this. have the new frame already home if you are sure frame is nfg. do windshield frame and body mount inspections. in fact do that next. if you have to pull it from the frame, pull the nose and firewall off to fix rust, and redo the rockers from mounts 2 to 3. then you can NOT justify fixing this car. sneak another yellow one home and put the roll bar in it. tell ma "Look how nice it turned out!"

 

Yes, I am doing the work. My dad and I built some cool hot rods while I was growing up. Thanks for the encouragement.

Source

 

So I am a teacher/football coach/strength and conditioning coordinator here in Texas. With the schools being shut down at least through June I have quite a bit of free time. We have a huge garage, and I pick up the new frame on Wednesday. I have everything ready to lift the body now. I have all parts for suspension ready to go so this week's goal is to get new frame painted, and the rolling chassis ready to go. This will be a long term project, but I feel that a conservative estimate is that I can have it running by the end of the summer. Most of the money that I will be spending will be on the odds and ends to replace worn cosmetic problems. We have a storage building out back that is housing interior and final assembly parts.

 

Sounds and looks like you have a good plan in place. You have a lofty goal of finishing it by this summer, but hey, it may be a real possibility for you in your situation. Hope you do. Be sure and take lots of pictures to help you remember how it went together and came apart! And to share on the Forum! Glad you started the thread!

 

So I got way behind on this project. A friend roped me into doing an engine swap in his f150... but I am finishing up the rolling chassis tomorrow.


Got the new frame prepped and about to start moving the good parts over.



Vansteel lowers and QA1 semi coil overs. New ball joints upper and lower. POL upper control arms with 6 degree offset. 1 1/8” Vansteel sway bar, corvette America stainless brake lines. New hub bearings. Rebuilt factory calipers. New bushings everywhere.



Vansteel offset trailing arms, QA1 coil overs, new hub bearings, spicer u joints, all new rear diff guts. I’m starting with .383 gears behind the Muncie 4 speed and 383 stroker. All new bushings, bumps stops etc.

 

Lookin good,,, now your f150 buddy owes you bigtime,, bartering is always a win!

. Looks like you have plenty of room for the project,,,,,,,

 

yeah. he got screwed in this deal. "C'mon. it's not that heavy! LIFT!!!" Now. body off. do you know how the birdcage is? body mounts 2-4. you ain't putting a wrench on them and unbolting them. not all 6. cutting the heads off the bolts that spin is a PITA, but less so than any alternative. are mounts 2 and 3 good on the new frame? you put a bolt through them to check? the cage for mounts 4 is a sheet metal convenience item for assembly line. they will spin on you. after they spin, cut heads off bolts and punch the cage out from below. don't replace it. have a buddy hold a wrench on the nut when installing body on the frame.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention the body mounts. I also replaced the #4 on frame body mounting brackets. There was a little bit of corrosion. I replaced both of the #3 body mounts. The #2s were in great shape. The drivers side #3 came free. The passengers side #3 I had to cut. There was a small bend in the corner where the drivers side #3 mount was. It was not bad but I figured I should repair while I had the frame out. I split that section of frame and repaired the internal brace and put it back on. Used a diamond pattern on outer shell of frame to eliminate a 90 degree weak point (left the inner 1/2 intact. I measured everything diagonally from point to point on the frame and it is true. there was less than 1/4" difference between the Control arm tower and opposite rear trailing arm mount on both sides.

 

For inspiration, here is my 1975 convertible in the original code 56 Corvette Bright Yellow. I love this color. It has just a hint of green (most yellows have a hint of red/orange) and really pops in the sunlight. Was at Cars and Coffee this morning and got lots of compliments. Lots of black cars out there but the C3 Corvette is one of the few that looks good in yellow.

 

After it’s driving I’ll make some more upgrades to the motor, but it’s fresh and strong. Time to start the body work. Wish me luck.

 

Keep pluggin'....